What Your NFL Fantasy Football Team Should Look Like

August 29, 2013 · No Comments

By LG

What Your Fantasy Football Team Should Look Like
Aside from the excitement that comes with the games that are actually played on Sunday, one of the most exciting parts of the NFL season is playing in fantasy football leagues. After all, where else can a girlfriend beat a boyfriend due to a huge performance by an unknown running back, that she played simply because she liked his name? But before you start wasting time at work while reorganizing your roster or deciding on an intimidating, yet funny, team name, it’s important to understand how your fantasy football team should look. Aside from the occasional upset due to outstanding individual performances, fantasy football is a game of skill and preparedness. And you’ll need a bit of both if you expect to be competing for the championship towards the end of the season. Here’s a look at how your fantasy team should break down.

No matter what type of league you are participating in, drafting running backs early is a key to a well-rounded team. Running backs will get you points in bunches, scoring off yards gained and touchdowns. And considering running backs are known to get injured, it’s important to make sure that you have enough to go around in the case of an injury. Loading up on running backs early makes the most sense for your typical fantasy league. Adrian Peterson, Arian Foster, Marshawn Lynch, Ray Rice and C.J. Spiller are just a few of the top choices to select from for your fantasy league. But be careful. Hoarding running backs is no secret in fantasy football and you can expect this position to become slim pickings by the second or third round. If you don’t load up on backs early, you better hope you pick up a sleeper late in your draft that can provide you a miracle or two. Either way, your team should have no less than three running backs playing each week, helping you rack up points like other positions can’t.

Quarterbacks are second to make this list, but not necessarily by importance. The fact of the matter is, after everyone soaks up all of the running backs in the league, people will immediately shift importance to quarterbacks. But in reality this is truly a good time to start drafting receivers, mainly because there are more quarterbacks to go around than wide-outs. Even as your draft gets deep into later rounds, chances are you are likely to find great quarterbacks like Colin Kaepernick, Robert Griffin III, Andrew Luck, Eli Manning, Joe Flacco and more, are all still available. This is because teams only need one quarterback and even in a fantasy league with eight teams, this leaves a lot of undrafted quarterbacks available. If you have a chance to pick up Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees or Peyton Manning early on, sure it makes sense to do so. But you are likely better off stacking your team with position players, and waiting till later on to attend to your quarterback needs. It should also be noted that it is not recommended to have more than one quarterback on your roster at a time, unless you are hoping to trade one of them. They simply take up too much space that could be used for other positions.

Your team should also consist of the adequate number of wide receivers and tight ends. Both of these positions, like running backs, will quickly evaporate in early rounds, simply because the pool of players to choose from isn’t as large as other positions. The fact of the matter is that these positions are a crap-shoot each week, considering you never know how many touches a certain player will get. You can rely on Jimmy Graham, Rob Gronkowksi and Jason Witten to get significant numbers at tight end; while Calvin Johnson, A.J. Green, Brandon Marshall and Demaryius Thomas are top picks for receivers. The important part is to not waste bench space on receivers. Instead, if you need to fill a roll during a certain week, than pick up a free agent who you may think could have a huge week, rather than stockpile receivers you’re likely to rarely use.

You also shouldn’t waste a lot of space on kickers or defenses. After all, defensive performances are likely to vary greatly, depending on who they play each week. It’s a smart idea to draft a kicker and a defense during your fantasy draft, but understand that they may not be the same picks that you stick with throughout your entire season.

Fantasy football is incredibly fun for people of all ages football knowledge. However, with this tidbit of information provided here, you are more likely to have an advantage over your competition. Draft wisely, and draft running backs often, if you hope to have a successful fantasy football team that will have you the king of your office pool.